Pitiful
by iStrawberryMilk
Summary: He'd never thought he'd live to see the day that his hopes and dreams be crushed. But when Lylat lacks a hero, will he stand once more?  Not WolFox   Rating subject to change
1. Prologue

Walking down each and every hallway and hangar, with pen and notepad in hand, noting everything about your mother ship, with a stranger was a bit uncomfortable for Fox, but it was absolutely necessary. Fox himself hadn't taken the measures to take care of himself- what now was becoming more and more of a burden as the inspector's face sometimes twitched in disgust. Half-absentmindedly Fox ran his gloved paw through the now rough patches of fur on his head. He wasn't old, no; he hadn't even hit thirty yet. However, the fur was rough due to Fox not having bathed for days.

"I assume you'll be packed and left out of here in three days." The inspector was a raccoon, but he was very professional-looking with a navy blue suit with an ocher-colored tie. His voice seemed distant and slurred to Fox, as he was thinking about how much he cursed himself by not picking up his appearance.

"Come again?" Fox asked, blinking his eyes which had a red tint due to lack of sleep. The raccoon paused for a moment, sighed, and repeated himself.

"I assume you'll be packed and left out of here in three days, _cleaned_ as well." There was a bit of venom in his last three words, which Fox hadn't thought he had said the first time. Still, it didn't bug Fox. Hell, nothing really bothered him anymore. He was about as responsive as a broken toy.

Fox grunted in response, and coughed for a while. The raccoon merely raised an eyebrow at this display of poor health. After writing a note down – probably about possible health concerns on the ship- his look substantially softened while looking at Fox.

"Make that a day and a half. Sir, I don't think your health is suitable for you to stay on this ship…"

"I understand..." Fox let the words slowly slip out of his mouth even if he didn't believe that it was true. But on the other side of things, Fox would admit that his health and well-being may have been slipping lately; but he couldn't outright say that it was staying aboard a lonely vessel with only a robot to keep you company's fault. Either way, he hoped to one day take to the skies again- be it in an arwing or any other ship that happens to catch his eye.


	2. Chapter 1

The scent of nicotine was a scent Wolf was all too familiar with. He played with the small cylinder in his hand as the smoke rising from the cigarette evoked such a sensation to put it back in his mouth, he did as his senses asked unconsciously. Sargasso was same as always, with monkeys scurrying about, catering to the station (And his) every whim. He watched this from the upper level, which had been converted into a living quarter area for Wolf and his team (There wasn't really any place they could call home). He leaned on the railing absentmindedly clenching his fist. StarFox hadn't shown its face in quite a long time- that upset Wolf to the fullest. He was supposed to be the one to bring down StarFox. _He__was._ He guessed that all he could do now was wait for the day for them to pop their foolish little tails in the door looking for a fight.

…But he began to doubt that day would ever come.

There was a loud banging on one of the walls somewhere in the upper area of Sargasso; causing some confused workers to stop and stare at what was causing the commotion. Wolf merely shook his head while cursing Panther's name. Even though he valued Panther as a work partner, he hated his guts as a person. One new woman per day, it seemed at one point. But whenever Krystal had left StarFox to join his team, Panther seemed pleased. Since then, he's calmed down. But then Wolf didn't think that it'd last long. Panther was too reckless with relationships. The feline was too much of a ladies' man, would be what he said of himself. With the pounding on the wall giving Wolf a headache, he left the area immediately without a second thought about his teammate.

Down in the aircraft hangar was where he spent most of his free time. Why? It was the only place he could escape Panther's flamboyant personality and the estranged lizard, Leon. Slowly walking around his prized aircraft, the Wolfen, his mind drifted back to the days when he didn't know what to do with his life. No direction, no morale. The only thing on young Wolf's mind was finding a reason to keep fighting to live. He joined Andross in his attempted conquest of the Lylat system.

"Merely a reason to fight"

Was the only thing on his mind. But even then, the bloodshed, the chaos, the uncertainty, none of it truly satisfied his hunger for a challenge. One day the mission came to intercept a group of missionaries on Fichina who were attempting to invade a base there. It was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be no big deal.

It wasn't easy. It was a big deal. They got their asses handed to them without the mercenary team even breaking a sweat. Fox McCloud. The name McCloud was a name Wolf was all too familiar with. James had ruined Wolf's life, according to Wolf. So what better way to get revenge than to kill his only son? What better way to get revenge on a dead person than to kill their offspring? None.

He swore to himself, he swore his life, that he'd be the one to kill Fox McCloud.

But would he ever accomplish that? Wolf began to doubt himself…


	3. Chapter 2

Libretto

Shuffling around his new apartment, Fox didn't feel at ease whatsoever. It was calm, it was quiet, it was… soft.

_Soft._

Such a word was revered by most, and was very appealing to the senses to most people. Fox, on the other hand, not so much. In recent months, he's been finding things with a hard surface and things with sharp edges soothing due to the fact that his life had been lackluster compared to his past. Although many lives were lost, although many people suffered, Fox secretly wished that the Lylat system would soon return to war. Fox guessed he laughed at himself for wanting this. The mindless bloodshed was somewhat calming and like a soothing lullaby to his senses. In other words, it made him feel at home.

Speaking of "home", his new apartment in the capital of Corneria didn't feel anything like "home"- but he supposed that he'd become adjusted to a quiet lifestyle soon. He had a job and everything. The size of the apartment wasn't exactly in his price range- it was quite below. But he wanted to spend the rest of his days modestly; Fox couldn't bear it if it got out that he had in a sense "abandoned" the battlefield. It was a quaint apartment, spare the excessive amount of boxes full of past StarFox members' junk. Two bedroom, a master and guest; along with a kitchen and pantry. Of course he had two bathrooms as well. The décor wasn't exactly designer - like. Fox never had an eye for such stupid and useless things as furniture, so he bought whatever looked good at the time, with not even looking at his other pieces of furniture.

He slowly wandered from his path in his new apartment, slowly making his way into the bathroom unconsciously, but surely. He stopped once he stood in the middle of the bathroom with various colors painting a portrait of distraught emotions simply from the décor he had chosen to be in the room. He swiveled around on his heel absentmindedly and faced his own reflection in the mirror. His fur was matted in a strange way, but Fox really didn't care. His eyes were still bloodshot, no matter how many eyedrops he decided to put in. Fox didn't care about that either. He didn't really care about anything anymore. He smiled at his reflection, despite the thoughts racing through his head.

He had scissors in his cabinet, however he didn't think of them often. Why they were in such a convenient place Fox had no clue. However, they were there. And their presence was more than seductive. In a trance-like state, Fox reached over to the cabinet in earnest, without realizing the consequences of what he was about to do…

…But if he knew, he would be more than overjoyed.

Taking the azure-colored scissors into his hands, he fondled them absentmindedly; he believed the object in his hands was not a toy, however, he wanted to find a realization that things could still be harsh, that things could still be serious, that things could still make him feel worth in his life. His grin grew in size from the feeling of pure happiness radiating through his mind, his body. He shook from excitement, the blade in the hands of someone who could make it be worth something. He separated the dual blades with trembling hands. His mind not truly thinking.

Positioned at his arm, he began to bring the blade back and almost proceeded to swipe it across his fur and skin. But something stopped him. He knew it wasn't right. He knew he shouldn't bring himself up to the level of someone who's worth caring about. It wasn't meaningful for him to die or to hurt himself. Fox set down the scissors and took a step back. His mind suddenly bombarded with the reality of what he was about to do.

Fox moaned and backed up completely against the wall. He hit the wall, and chose to let himself buckle against his own weight. He hit the floor with a loud bang, mind racing. How could he even think to do this to himself? Even if he WERE to kill himself, nobody would realize, and his body would probably rot in the bathroom until someone conceived the scent of decay. Fox tasted the salt in his saliva and felt his eyes begin to burn. Tears streamed slowly down his cheeks, reality finally set in completely.

_He was free._

_**But he was alone.**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**RETOUR**_

* * *

><p><em>Beeeep.<em>_Beeeeeep.__**Beeeeeeeeeeep.**_

Wolf groaned as he heard his PDA, next to him on his nightstand charging, begin to beep and buzz and make all sorts of racket as it alerted him of a new call. Soon it silenced from not being seen or heard. Half-smiling at the realization that horrible beeping noise was now silenced, he began to drift back to sleep. As his vision clouded in his pitch-black room, a rude awakening made itself heard.

_Beeeep.__Beeeeeep.__**Beeeeeeeeeeep.**_

"_Fuck__it_!" Wolf shouted as he sat himself up on his mattress. Whoever was calling was certainly persistent, he had to give them that. Swearing even more under his breath, he grabbed the blue-screened PDA with a disoriented paw and pulled it up to his face. It merely read "**PRIVATE****CALLER**" and had a number he didn't recognize. He hit the green button that read "RESPOND" and simply waited for the Comm to pop up so he could see the bastard who woke him up from the first sleep he's gotten in a long time. However, when the Comm showed up on the hologram, there was only the shadow of a person- not an actual camera Comm.

"You _are_the famed Wolf O'Donnell, correct?" A voice came through. It was raspy and sounded a little static-y; as if the person had been calling from far, far away from Sargasso's whereabouts in the Lylat System. But then again, the surrounding asteroids didn't really help with reception here, either.

"Hah. "_famed__" _? Do you even know who you're talking to, son?" Wolf's voice came out stronger than he anticipated, and his laugh sounded like a disgruntled bark. However, what the voice had said somewhat upset him in the back of his mind. In the darkness, Wolf groped around on his nightstand for an unopened bag of chips.

_Speaking of being upset, he was quite hungry…_

"Famed indeed, Mr. O'Donnell. Does the StarWolf team happen to have any slots open for work within the next week or two? I would really appreciate the help; and your wallets will certainly appreciate the pay." Wolf's ear twitched at the pure octave the voice spoke in- it sounded as if they were singing normal words. Purely high-pitched and smooth. It was enough to irritate Wolf to the point of him shoving chip after chip into his mouth.

"Sure, Sure. And before I answer that question, who the heck am I talking to?" Wolf managed to choke out in-between chips. His one eye struggling to read the bright Comm number this person had- just in case he actually accepted the work. Wolf didn't feel like doing much these days.

"Forgive me, Forgive me… I had forgotten to introduce myself! My name is Emil. Emil Rodriquez." Wolf's eyebrow rose at the unusual combo of names. How does somebody even **get** a name like that? Such a pansy-pussy name.

"So then, _Emil,_" Stressing the unusual name, Wolf continued, "Why are you asking such a **humble** merc group to do something at…what time is it? Oh, maybe _**3AM**_, to do something for you?" Wolf didn't care how enraged he sounded. The bastard took his first sleep in a while away from him- that wasn't something Wolf responded to too well these days.

"Ah-ha~ So you are interested! Great!" The high pitched sing-song voice seemed unaffected by Wolf's harsh tone of voice as he sounded quite grateful.

"Would 1,000,000 credits for a murder sound good to you?" The voice began to seem to get even happier at the mention of the word "murder". Wolf nearly choked on one of his chips when he heard _"__1,000,000__credits__for__a__murder__"__._

"Holy shit! Who the fuck are we supposed to murder, like, Gen. Peppy? Fox McCloud? Who?" Wolf's ears twitched in pure anticipation and eagerness- if it was 1,000,000 credits on the table, there _**has**_ to be a challenge waiting for him.

The voice laughed in response.

"Remus McKeller." The voice said, seeming to be enticed with the fact that they actually have someone who's possibly willing to risk their life for the work. Remus was the leading candidate to be leader of the Fichina-Branch of the Lylatian government. The man promised more help for those living on Fichina, and more supplies shipped off to the planet.

"Politics is stupid. But if there's a challenge involved that doesn't require me to use my brain to work it, I'll sure as hell do it." Wolf paused for a minute to smile, thinking of the extreme challenge he'll obtain from this, "And 1,000,000 sounds like quite the nice deal for a single person's death."

"So…you'll take the job?" The voice's pitch became even higher as he said these words.

"Of course, Emmie. You got yourself StarWolf workin' for ya now!"

_Wolf stopped eating chips for just a moment, out of satisfaction._


	5. Chapter 4

Hehe. Sorry about the italics in the last chapter. They don't like my computer for some reason. ^ ^ ;

Untitled

Fox's eyes began to hurt. He grunted and opened his eyes to see the morning sun shining warily down upon him. His head hurt, his hips hurt, and most of all, his ego hurt. Fox had been out at local pubs last night, just drinking the night away. Standing himself up on his elbows, he looked around his room in a daze, trying to remember just _how_ much he had drank that night.

Something moved in his bed. Fox jumped at the startling sensation of something moving his bed sheets without his notice. His gaze went to his left, to find a lump in the sheets. His frown deepening, he grabbed the sheets and tore them downward to reveal a female mongoose sleeping soundly next to him, her body in a fetal position, the mongoose wearing lingerie. Grunting in utter annoyance, he kicked her in the shin with his left foot.

Gasping, she awoke in a minute.

"Oh, oh god…" She muttered, sitting up immediately realizing she wasn't in her home, "Uh…Sorry, uh, sir… I got carried away last night—I've, I've got to return to my kids and and… my husband. Oh GOD, my husband!"

She was now scrambling for her clothing littered across Fox's floor and perhaps her purse if she were lucky enough to find it. Fox merely laughed coldly.

"Hah. Tell him something for me, will ya?" Fox crossed his legs from the knee down, "You're such a terrible fuck. He'd better be re-thinking that ring on your finger; Looks like you're not Ms. Fidelity."

The mongoose gasped and halted zipping up her pants.

"What the _hell?_ I give you a motherfucking booty call because you looked so damn pitiful at that shit-hole they call a bar, and the first thing you do when we wake up is INSULT me?" The mongoose sounded quite flustered as the resumed re-dressing.

Fox merely laughed once again.

"Look who's calling who pitiful. You disrespectful bitch." Fox's words weren't Fox-sounding whatsoever. They were dipped in such venom that Fox didn't know who was speaking; himself, or his inner demons.

"No wonder you live in this fucking condo all by your gay-ass self. Fuck you, and fuck yourself while they're at it." The mongoose hissed one last response and stormed out of the apartment, purse in tow.

Fox smiled to himself and leaned back onto the pillows, satisfied with his first night being completely alone in a long while. However, the silent bliss was short-lived. The doorbell rang.

Growling curses to himself, he got himself dressed and partially decent looking, making sure he didn't smell like the night before. Sauntering over to the door, he hummed a sad song happily. Fox opened the door, with no thought about who it really could be.

"F-Fox McCloud…?" A shy voice meeped from behind the door.

"Yes? Whaddya need, sport?" Fox asked, opening his eyes to see a small rabbit with off white fur. Leaning on the door frame, Fox really didn't care what he had to say, but the company was nice.

"Are you… I mean, can you do a mercenary job? You can expect…high…pay…." The rabbit seemed to choke on the last couple word of the choppy sentence.

"And so what if I am?" Fox smiled a toothy grin- which reminded him of when he was back on the StarFox team.

"Well, I'm a spokesperson for a… certain politician. He wishes to remain unnamed for political reasons… yeah…" Fox's grin widened, "And he wants another certain…politician, out of the picture. He's offering 1,000,000 credits to whoever can kill him…"

"Oh, and who's the lucky guy?" Fox couldn't stop himself from saying such things, even if they didn't make the spokesperson all that comfortable in Fox's presence.

"Remus…McKeller." He said the words as if they were something stigmatic and forbidden to the tongue. Fox nearly doubled over in laughter.

"Seriously? Mr. vampire? I swear to god, he has the biggest canines I've ever seen on a dog!" Fox stopped laughing, and his tone turned back to his trademark serious composure, but the grin remained.

"You've got yourself a contestant! Who could ever even think of being able to challenge me?"


End file.
